Written and Directed by: Karl Holt
Cast: Karl Holt, Claire Cartwright, George Collie, James Parsons
The penultimate act of evil is love.
Swift shot: When cherished plushie Benny is sent to the rubbish bin, his owner Jack learns that eternal love comes with consequences. Benny will protect Jack forever, even if it kills him!
Meet Jack, he’s just turned 35, still lives at home with his parents, has almost no social life, and is just floating by at work. He’s got no real drive or ambitions and is afraid to step outside of his comfort zone. His only real friend is a little bear/dog or dog/bear, or whatever the hell Benny is supposed to be. Benny has been Jack’s comfort cuddle-buddy for far too long.
But something happens on his 35th birthday that shatters his comfortable mediocrity. And the vultures swoop in to destroy him. His rival at work, Richard is a total tit, and takes advantage of Jack’s misfortune. His boss, Ron demotes Jack at the worst possible time. Jack is drowning in debt and is screwed on just about every level.
Forced to grow up or lose his livelihood and home, Jack gets one of those dreadful self-help cassettes (yes, I said cassette) which encourages him to stop being a loser and put away childish things. Thing is, Benny is that one thing he definitely should not have binned.
Jack manages to square himself away and really tries to make things work out. But Benny knows Jack doesn’t stand a chance in this world without his help. We all see what is about to happen next. Benny just starts murdering mutherfuckahs! I mean, duh, right?
The rest of the second act is Jack dealing with the murders and getting clever about hiding them from the local, bumbling coppers.
Meanwhile, Jack has somehow gotten lucky (for once) and his new position pairs him with a lovely lady, Dawn. She is a robotics expert, and he is a toy designer. Oh, I forgot to mention that. Jack has a cool job. I love characters that have cool, fun jobs. And it’s interesting that Karl Holt twisted that fun job into a monotonous chore where fun literally goes to die. That’s a credit to James Parsons (no, not that one) playing his boss, Ron who is the prickiest passive-aggressive boss I’ve seen in a long time.
Naturally, as the murders increase, Jack starts to lose his grip . . . but Benny is just loving all this. He really does gleefully get into his work. And I just couldn’t help busting out laughing every time I heard Benny mechanically giggle after slaughtering someone. And I use the word slaughter deliberately. If you are at all squeamish, Benny Loves You will force you to look away at least once or twice.
I know I watched it with almost a permanent wince on my face, which is a really great thing for a gory dark comedy. The wince-factor was intentional. You are supposed to be disturbed. And if you aren’t a bit shocked by some of the deaths, you may need to see a therapist. Honestly!
In the end, everything goes to shit, and there are a few surprises for the audience. Also, please make sure you stick around after the credits for a nice little nod to a classic horror film that you really don’t want to miss.
If you want to laugh, want to wince, and want an entertaining film to cheer you up and not make you dwell on anything too much, Benny Loves You is perfect.
